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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Association Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: April 26, 2024
The prospective impact of sleep duration on depression and mania
Carol A Perlman1, Sheri L Johnson, Thomas A Mellman
1Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. cperlman@partners.org
Objective:
Many patients report sleeping less than 6 h per night during episodes of depression and mania. This type of sleep deficit may also be a risk factor for subsequent mood episodes; however, the long-term impact of sleep deficit remains unclear. The current study is among few longitudinal studies to assess the prospective effect of sleep deficit on depression and mania.
Methods:
A subsample of 54 individuals from a longitudinal study of bipolar I disorder was selected. Participants entered the study during a mood episode. Baseline symptom data were collected at month 4 to allow for recovery from the initial episode, sleep was assessed at month 6, and follow-up symptom data were obtained during months 7-12.
Results:
Sleep deficit predicted depressive symptoms across the 6-month follow-up but not mania.
Conclusions:
It is likely that the impact of sleep deficit on mania was probably missed because assessments covered a full month. Monitoring sleep duration may help predict depression in bipolar disorder and provide an opportunity for targeting intervention.
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